James Harden turned the Philadelphia 76ers into a legit NBA Finals contender. At least on paper. In reality, however, the former Houston Rockets great has yet to be at his best level this season.
Harden’s ‘tour-dates’ shooting nights have shown up way too often for Doc Rivers’ team. And other than his close-out game vs. the Toronto Raptors, he’s been far from efficient in the postseason.
That will have to change quickly, as the Sixers travel to South Florida for a series with the Miami Heat without Joel Embiid, who’ll miss at least the first two games as he nurses a concussion and orbital fracture.
NBA News: James Harden Says He Needs To Be More Aggressive
That’s why Harden vowed to turn back the clock and go back to what he’s been used to dofor most of his career. He claims he needs to be more aggressive but it’s not like he hasn’t been in that position before:
“[I just have to] be more aggressive,” Harden told the media. “I’ve been doing this — I’m comfortable and have been doing this for a long time. Just taking what the defense gives me and being aggressive, and making the right decision once I get to that point. More floor spacing and more attacks to the basket. We just have to play free — free and with the ultimate confidence as a group.”
“I had opportunities to score [this year],” Harden continued. “I’m still averaging 20 something points in the regular season and 18-19 [in the playoffs]. At this point, man, it’s a sacrifice. I can score 30 something, and we could lose, and score 19, and we win. At this point, I just do whatever it takes to win the game. Sacrificing, I’m the ultimate team player. Now that Jo’s out, I gotta be more aggressive scoring the basketball, and I got to get to the basket and make the right decisions.”
The Heat are perhaps the most physical squad still in contention and will surely make it tough for Harden. They’re bruisers and know how to contain the best scorers on Earth, so he’ll need to bring his A-Game if the Sixers want to stand a chance.